Painting with Fire!

One of the draws of alcohol ink is its looseness and unpredictability–so what if we amplified that and added a little danger?
This week’s project was inspired by a video I saw on YouTube where an artist applied alcohol inks to a ceramic tile and then lit it on FIRE! The movement of the flame allows for truly unique designs as well as an extremely fast evaporation time. In the video, she mentioned using this technique to create backgrounds for future works, but I think the result looks great enough on its own, so I used it to make some tile coasters!

For this project, I picked up some plain white ceramic tiles (4″ x 4″) and a slightly larger tile (9″ x 12″) from a hardware store–super cheap, and you can sometimes even find them in thrift stores. I already had my stash of Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks and Blending Solution and a lighter stick, so I was good to go!

I started as I would with any other abstract alcohol ink piece by just tossing color all over my surface (the colors I used here are Clover, Stream, Aqua, and Shell Pink).

To get the colors to start moving around, I added a few splashes of Blending Solution.

Then I lit it with my lighter stick and let the flame burn down on its own (about 20 seconds)…

And here’s what I got!
I wasn’t entirely happy with the amount of white that was still showing through, so I tried again!

One of the best things about alcohol inks is their ability to be reworked when you’re not happy with the result.

Even though the alcohol was burned off from the flame, I was still able to add MORE inks and blending solution to the tile and it reactivated it!

Here’s what I got the second time around and I was much happier with this result!

A lot of my color got burned off the first go around, so I threw on more Watermelon and Wild Plum the second go ’round and got this!

My third tile was a crazy mixture of Cool Peri, Wild Plum, Indigo, and Cranberry.

I’ll never get tired of taking pictures of art on fire.

Oof. This one came out REALLY dark. But no worries!

I only added light tones (Cool Peri and the blending solution) the second time.

Let it do its thing…

And it brought back my brighter colors!

My last tile was…a learning experience.
I’m not sure why I thought this color scheme would be a good idea, I guess I was riding a bit of a high from the pyromania. For whatever reason, I picked Cool Peri, Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow, and Citrus…

Oh, what a mistake that was…

Here’s the unfortunate mess I got with those colors. I think it might have turned out okay, had I not included the green…

Rather than chalk this up to a total waste, I used it as an opportunity to experiment.

I had forgotten that metallic Silver was in my arsenal and didn’t even consider using it on the three prior tiles, so I threw it and some blending solution on top of this wreck just to see what it would do…

So, essentially, the silver just danced around on top and didn’t meld in with the other colors. I like the look of it, though! I’d like it more if it wasn’t on THIS tile…

I made another attempt by JUST adding blending solution, to see if it would burn anything off, and it mostly just got kind of burnt… No worries, though!

After a little rubbing alcohol and some light scrubbing, I had a clean tile again!

This time, I stuck with a combination of colors I knew would look good together: Cool Peri, Aqua, Stream, and Indigo.

Some blending solution, of course.

And presto! This one was pretty okay with me, but I still wanted more coverage on those white areas.

I added some more Cool Peri and blending solution…

And ended up with this! Much better than that orange-green train wreck…

And when THAT was dry, I stuck these little feetsies underneath so the unfinished bottoms wouldn’t scratch up my tables. If you have some felt lying around, that would work great. But I just picked up these furniture pads while I was getting the tiles.

Here are my finished products:

If you attempt this project, PLEASE make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area and not under any low ceilings! While the flame doesn’t extend more than about 2.5 feet, it could still catch onto things around it. And also make sure your inks are a safe distance from your open flame.
With those things in mind, this project is entirely safe and tons of fun!

Comment down below and let me know if you’ve ever used fire with alcohol inks before OR if you’re trying this technique for the very first time!

I’ve been painting and firing tiles for the last couple of months and love some of the results and sometimes can add to the ones I don’t care for by just adding ink colors again and moving them around and getting good results (no fire). There are other little tricks you can do. It is trial and errorrrrrrrrrr and sometimes really neat things happen.

I have used Alcohol for other purposes — And I will try this. However, I would like larger pieces. Also- I’m wondering — if one can use this on another surface — such — as Canvas — or Board? I should call cheap joes – and ask.

Hi, James. Not sure if you called in to ask, but to answer your question: no, it would not work on canvas or board. It needs to be something totally flame-retardant to be able to set it on fire and not damage it–or your surroundings. Other options, though, are glass, stone, and metal.

In answer to James question about using another substrate. You can use alcohol inks on canvas as long as you apply one or two coats of gesso on the canvas first. You can achieve Some really lovely results. No fire though.

Why would anybody use watercolor to stain porcelain tiles! Why not American Journey watercolors and Ethanol…You can get a quart of Ethanol from Amazon for $12.00, and paint twice as fast. I even used it with my Rembrandt/ Mungyo Soft pastels, on Canson paper and Fredrix Watercolor Canvas!

If they wanted colored tiles, have them go to a Pottery shop! Much nicer results!
That way they will not have to worry about getting the surface wet, and have it become history! You will never find watercolored tiles at a Tile vendor! All are either HIGH FIRE or LOW FIRE glazes and permanent!

That way the dumb artists that do not know the combustibility of alcohol on paper, will not have the chance of burning down their art studio and home as well, just because they seen it on Cheap Joe’s being used on white tile material!

James, I’m not sure I understand your comment. I used alcohol inks, not watercolor. They adhere to non-porous surfaces much better than watercolors do. Like Yupo, for instance. Here, I was just showing a fun way to use alcohol inks.

This sounds like a fun project. I think I will like this. have used wax crayon to do a method something like this on oil paintings that have done in the past. I use a hot wood burning tool to melt the wax crayon on to the painting.Be sure to use a metal instrument to hold the wax crayon while you are melting the was onto the canvas. The wax leaves a nice mix of oil paint and wax deposit on the painting that have seen my works are in awe of the finished product. My fellow artist. often begin to work with this method. It is great fun. If you an artist who looks for new art paths…go for it. jeanie ward

Thanks so much for the information. Do you have a web-site? I would love to see some of your work. I never thought about adding crayons as a coloring medium. Would love to see how you use it. Thanks. Donna )

Thank you for the compliments, Donna! This is the only website I post on at the moment, I don’t have an online portfolio just yet. But stay tuned for the crayons project! If I attempt it, it will be posted on this site

Hi Carlee, Thank you for sharing your gorgeous work and your methodology. Do you find that iquitex Soluvar Aerosol Varnish (Glossy) is sufficient to seal tiles? If so, I’ll try it. I’m in the habit of sealing with resin so that finished piece can take heat (work as a hot plat or support cup of hot tea) and so that it doesn’t chip.
Would LOVE to switch to an easier method if it works.
Also thanks for the reminder that AI works on canvas if we prep the canvas well.

Hi, Abigail! The Liquitex Varnish is sufficient for something like a coaster, that only comes in contact with water. I would be wary to put anything hot on it, though. I’ll give it a try and let you know, though!

Carlee…I think that the “unfortunate mess” was a beautiful blend of colors. I actually liked that color combo the best of all. I’ve got to try this technique. What else have you tried besides the tiles, with or without the fire?

Haha, thank you, John! I guess it wasn’t so bad looking–we are our own biggest critics, y’know? I have only ever done the fire on tiles, but I’ve also painted with alcohol inks and a small brush on Yupo paper and it gives some really wonderful effects! Here’s one I did a while back: http://sketchbook.cheapjoes.com/2015/06/pigments-of-your-imagination/

You can definitely use alcohol inks on paper and canvas, but I would not recommend the fire technique, as paper and canvas are, well, flammable, haha. The reason the tiles work is because they won’t burn. You can try other non-porous surfaces, though! Like glass and metal. Anything you’d feel safe lighting on fire, that is.